SpaceX’s massive Starship spacecraft dramatically exploded late Wednesday night during testing at the company’s test site in Brownsville, Texas. The incident marks the latest setback for billionaire Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to send humans to Mars.
According to SpaceX, the explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time while Starship was on a test stand preparing for its tenth test flight. The company described the event as a “major anomaly,” confirmed that all personnel were safe, and said it is coordinating with relevant authorities regarding environmental and safety concerns.
Elon Musk stated in a post that preliminary investigations suggest a pressure issue in a nitrogen Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) in the payload bay. He added that if confirmed, this would be the first time such a failure has occurred with this design.
Videos show the Starship rocket experiencing at least two explosions in quick succession, lighting up the night sky and scattering debris over the area.
Standing 122 metres (400 feet) tall, Starship is central to Musk’s goal of sending humans to Mars, but this year the spacecraft has faced multiple serious setbacks during tests.
In May, Starship lost control mid-flight and failed to meet many of its test objectives. This followed earlier destructive explosions over Caribbean islands that disrupted air traffic.
In February, the rocket exploded shortly after launch, scattering fiery debris over South Florida and the Bahamas. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated the incident, attributing it to a technical failure and confirming that SpaceX implemented corrective actions before the May flight.
In January, another breakup occurred in space, causing debris to fall over the Caribbean and damaging property in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
These repeated failures present significant challenges to SpaceX’s Mars mission ambitions. The company is currently investigating the latest incident thoroughly and working to enhance safety measures for future tests.
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